Travis Taylor (author)

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Travis Shane Taylor is a science fiction author from the South-Eastern United States, living near Huntsville, Alabama. He holds a doctorate in Optical Science and Engineering, Master's Degrees in Physics, Aerospace Engineering (all from the University of Alabama in Huntsville), and Astronomy (from the University of Western Sydney)and a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Alabama.[1]

Contents

[edit] Life

Taylor grew up in rural North Alabama, but details of his early life and education are not part of his public biography. He has stated that he worked for over sixteen years for the United States Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and contractors of those organizations on "various programs", although a detailed resume is not available. Currently, he is working on space propulsion techniques which he personally describes as "advanced". He is also working on "very large telescopes", space-based beamed energy systems, future combat technologies and systems and next generation space launch concepts.

His academic professional production includes the following:

Rewriteable magneto-optic compact disk based optical processor: a thesis (1994); Laboratory simulation of atmospheric turbulence induced optical wavefront distortion : a dissertation (1999); Advanced solar and laser sail propulsion concepts for interstellar space travel : a thesis (2001),[2] No citation is available for any publications resulting from his Master's degree in Astronomy.

He has also established claims to work with HUMINT, IMINT, SIGINT and MASINT concept studies. During his off-time, he lists hobbies such as Competition Karate, piloting, SCUBA diving, riding mountain bikes and road bikes and singing in rock bands.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Warp Speed

Taylor's first novel examines ideas for practically applying quantum mechanics and general relativity to create a method of warping space, first for use as a superluminal propulsion system and later a weapon. The novel also introduces his first recurring character, Dr. Neal Anson Clemons, the physicist who is the primary creator of the warp drive. Much of Dr. "Doc" Clemons's character appears to be inspired by Taylor's own life, from academic background and competitive karate training to sharing the same nickname. Clemons's middle name is also shared with Robert Anson Heinlein, a clear homage to a writer whose work obviously influences Taylor.

The strong resemblance between Clemons and Taylor, and the tremendous skill, intellect and competence demonstrated by Clemons (and multiple other characters) has given rise to commentary and critiques characterizing Clemons as a "Mary Sue" -- a character patterned after the author's personality and appearance, but typically possessing extremely exaggerated ability and/or attractiveness. Taylor has been described as "irked" at such reactions; he is quoted at one science fiction convention as follows:

"Have people become so average that they can't believe that some of our nation's current heroes and successes couldn't exist? What about Chuck Yeager? What about Jim Lovell? What about Story Musgrave? What about Arnold Schwarzenegger? What about Pat Tilman? What about Judy Resnik? You can name hundreds of American Superpeople. What about Madonna? Think how old she is and how she keeps plugging away better than many 20 year olds and smarter at it to boot. A good friend of mine is 52, a national class cyclist, and Chief Scientist of a major DoD contractor firm... what about him? Would you call them all Mary Sues? Look at any fighter pilot or astronaut and you'll see someone that I guess could not really exist because they aren't average. I based Anson on real people I have known in my life. The female characters as well. Calling them Mary Sues is an insult to those people and to the American Dream."[cite this quote]

Taylor is correct that such overachievers do exist; perhaps more importantly, Warp Speed is an Edisonade, and the heroes of such are inevitably overachievers. The argument that Clemons is a self-conscious projection of the author into the novel is less easily refuted, but it is far from uncommon for the protagonists of first novels in any genre to be strongly inspired by the author's own biography.

Warp Speed was voted #3 best SF book of 2005 by Preditors & Editors Readers Poll.

[edit] The Quantum Connection

Revisiting the world created by Warp Speed, Taylor shows the world from the point of view of another character named Steven Montana. Montana is a prototypical slacker who works in the technology industry. His world is brought to a total halt by events from Warp Speed as The Quantum Connection picks up several years after the events. The book explores the ideas of quantum mechanics, nanotechnology, inter-planetary defense and realistic space-born warfare. It also introduces the "Grey Aliens" of UFOlogy.

This book was voted #5 on Preditors & Editors 2005 Science Fiction book of the year poll.

[edit] Von Neumann's War

Released in July of 2006, Von Neumann's War is a new series and not related to the Warp Speed and The Quantum Connection universe. It is co-authored by Baen author John Ringo.

The novel is about an invasion of the present day Sol System by alien robotic Von Neumann probes, and the battle by Earth's forces to stop them cold. It is a combination of Taylor's hard science-fiction and John Ringo's military-sf. It is also supplemented with an ebook available from Baen called Neighborhood Watch Final Report which is a mock-up of the (fictional) classified technical report to the National Reconnaissance Office which describes the discovery of the invasion force on Mars at the start of the novel.

[edit] An Introduction to Planetary Defense

A Study of Modern Warfare Applied to Extra-Terrestrial Invasion

Co-authored with Bob Boan, R.C. Anding and T. Conley Powell, this book offers a serious look at defending Earth in the event of an extraterrestrial invasion. Rather than outlining fantastically extreme (and possibly paranoid) possibilities for the sake of entertainment, the authors attempt to keep their speculation within the 'known' possible world (although they do allow for the possibility of faster-than-light travel). The book was, however, rushed out into print (the PDF e-book, which is not issued by Baen Publishing, Taylor's normal publisher, is not easy to use) and suffers from the hasty release, notably in poor editing.

Though the book was well-received, some fans have commented that it is written very much as if "preaching to the choir," in this case to those already part of or familiar with the global covert intelligence community. The book therefore posits several assumptions common among its intended readership which are not necessarily shared by the general public. In particular, the authors are very keen that any alien contact should be kept secret if at all possible, despite the hindrance this would present to any coordinated global defence effort (and the likelihood of such secrecy being impossible in the first place). They acknowledge problems within the United States –- shortsightedness and inadequate knowledge of the subject matter on the part of politicians, and a (perceived) tendency on the part of NASA to focus on superficial observations more suitable to PR work, are two that are specifically mentioned -– but admit that these problems cannot be solved by the authors. The book does suggest that an organization be given funding and authority to investigate and prepare for an event in case it happened.

The book's final conclusion is a variant on the Precautionary Principle: the authors advise that it would be better for humanity to prepare for an incursion which never happens than to suffer from an invasion for which we have not prepared.

[edit] One Day On Mars

Described by one promotional blurb as "24 on Mars", this book has been acclaimed as Taylor's best to date.

The story takes place on Mars, where a group of separatists have launched an attack against the federal military from Earth tasked to guard them and the surrounding area. A senator, who is there to help with the peace negotiations, and his family get caught up in the subsequent battle and butchery. The senator can only hope to reach safety before he becomes nothing more than a pawn in the separatist leaders' nefarious plan.

This book and its subsequent sequel The Tau Ceti Agenda both feature the heavy use of Mech-like warriors, very similar to those seen in the Gundam series.

[edit] Works Featuring Stories by Taylor

  • Cosmic Tales: Adventures in Sol System
    • The Cleaning Lady
    • Are We There Yet?
  • Future Washington
    • Agenda
  • Back to the Moon a nonfiction article in Jim Baen's Universe Magazine

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Travis S. Taylor
  2. ^ University of Alabama in Huntsville Library Catalog, http://librarycatalog.uah.edu/ accessed 2007 April 29.